On April 20, 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law Bill H.4647: “An Act providing for a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures during the COVID-19 Emergency.” The new law immediately prohibits essentially all steps related to residential foreclosures and non-emergency evictions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with few exceptions. The law also requires forbearance of residential mortgage loan payments for financially-impacted mortgagors. Below are the key points to understand.

1. Effective Date. The law is immediately effective on April 20, 2020.
2. Duration. The moratorium on evictions and foreclosures expires on the earlier of 120 days from the effective date (or August 20, 2020), or 45 days after the Massachusetts COVID-19 emergency declaration has been lifted, whichever is sooner. Given the current circumstances in Massachusetts, this means it will likely last to, and probably at least through part of, the summer of 2020.
   1. The Governor may extend the deadlines in increments of up to 90 days, but the deadlines cannot be extended to later than 45 days from the date that the Massachusetts COVID-19 emergency declaration has been lifted.
3. Temporary Moratorium on Non-Essential Evictions. The law places a moratorium on all non‑essential evictions of residential and small business tenants by landlords and owners of properties.
   1.  Non-essential evictions are defined as evictions “(i) for non-payment of rent; (ii) resulting from a foreclosure; (iii) for no fault or no cause; or (iv) for cause that does not involve or include allegations of: (a) criminal activity that may impact the health or safety of other residents, healthcare workers, emergency personnel, persons lawfully on the subject property or the general public; or (b) lease violations that may impact the health or safety of other residents, health care workers, emergency personnel, persons lawfully on the subject property or the general public; provided, however, that a non-essential eviction shall not include an eviction for a small business premises unit on account of the expiration of the term of a lease or tenancy or a default by the tenant of a small business premises unit under the terms of its lease or tenancy that occurred before the declaration of the COVID-19 emergency.”
      Therefore, unless the tenancy is actively causing a health or safety issue, and without regard to whether an eviction would otherwise be legal, evictions are paused during the duration of the moratorium.
   2. The moratorium applies to all substantive stages of the eviction process, including the termination of a tenancy and the sending of a notice to quit. It also prohibits sending any other notice that requests or demands that a tenant vacate.
   3. The law places additional restrictions on courts that have jurisdiction over summary process cases, as well as sheriffs who normally levy on executions. The restrictions are intended to further carry out and enforce the temporary moratorium on non-essential evictions.
4. Rent Obligations. Note that the law does not relieve tenants from paying their rent, or remove a landlord’s right to collect rent. Rather, it precludes a landlord or owner of a property from evicting a person during the moratorium who has not paid rent in the absence of a threat to health or safety.
5. Temporary Moratorium on Mortgage Foreclosures. The law temporarily prohibits all foreclosures on residential properties with four or fewer units. It prohibits not only foreclosures by sale, but also publication of the notice of foreclosure pursuant to G.L. c. 244, § 14; exercising the power of sale; exercising a right of entry; initiating a judicial or non-judicial foreclosure generally; and filing a complaint pursuant to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
   1. This applies not only to the mortgagee itself, but also to its agents.
   2. The moratorium does not apply to commercial properties.
   3. The moratorium does not apply to a residential property that “is not vacant or abandoned.”
6. Mandatory Forbearance on Mortgage Loan Payments. The law also requires “[a] creditor or mortgagee” to grant a forbearance to any mortgagor who “submits a request to the mortgagor’s servicer affirming that the mortgagor has experienced a financial impact from COVID-19.”
   1. Note that the forbearance requirements do not operate automatically. Mortgagors still have to apply to their respective servicers and “affirm” financial impact “from COVID-19.”
   2. The required forbearance period shall be for “not more than 180 days.”
   3. Mortgagees cannot add any penalties, fees, or interest during the forbearance period beyond those that would have applied if the mortgagor was making timely payments.
   4. Payments subject to forbearance must be added to the end of the loan’s term unless otherwise agreed to by mortgagor and mortgagee.
   5. The law makes clear that mortgagors and mortgagees can reach “alternative payment agreement[s] for the payments subject to the forbearance.”
   6. The obligation does not apply to requests for forbearance made after the expiration of the foreclosure moratorium.
7. Mortgage Payment Obligations. Other than the noted forbearance requirement, the law does not affect a mortgagor’s obligation to make payments, nor does it affect a mortgagee’s right to receive the payments, under the subject loan.
8. Credit Reporting. The law imposes credit reporting requirements on landlords and mortgagees. For landlords, they cannot “furnish rental payment data to a consumer reporting agency … related to the non-payment of rent if, not later than 30 days after the missed rent payment, the tenant provides notice and document to the landlord that the non-payment of rent was due to a financial impact from COVID-19.”
   For mortgagees, furnishers “shall not furnish negative mortgage payment information to a consumer reporting agency related to mortgage payments subject to forbearance under this act.” Note that this is essentially duplicative of the CARES Act’s amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act for “accommodations.”
9. Litigation. There is no private right of action written into the law. Therefore, the law appears to be prohibitive and prophylactic, not punitive or correctional.